A Second Chance (Fix-its and One-Shots)
by icecreamscoop3
Summary: So now that Endgame is upon us, to say that I'm devastated would be the understatement of the year. But as always fanfics are here to save the day. !SPOILERS BELOW¡ I am disregarding the fact that Steve went back in time so I just pretend that he returned the stones and came back. This is gonna contain a truckload of fluff, bromance, and whump.
1. The Oath: So Long

'Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark.' He winced as he felt the fresh scar on his brow bone. Peter had just came back from work, like any other day. He reached for his keys and entered his apartment. Just as he closed the door, his senses went haywire.

There was someone in his house.

In an instant, his gun was out. He tried to use his advanced hearing to locate the intruder. 'The bedroom.' He realized. He cautiously shuffled his way through the corridor, until he was in front of the bedroom door. He put his ear to the door, and made out faint footsteps.

Peter prepared himself to kick the door open, his gun trained on where he heard the footsteps.

'Okay, on three.' He whispered to himself.

'One.'

'Two.'

'Three!' He swung the door open, and his grip on the gun only got tighter. The room was dark, but the moonlight shone through it. Eyes wide and fully alert, he moved forward.

'Movement on your six!' Warned his senses. He whipped around so fast, black spots danced around his vision. There stood a hooded figure, male, not that tall. The person seemed oddly familiar, but there was no telling with that hood.

"Hands where I can see 'em." He said harshly. The figure obliged, hands shaking, body almost trembling.

They both stood there for a few moments, locked in a trance.

"Take off the hood." Peter ordered.

And oh boy was he not prepared to see the face that hid beneath it.

It was no stranger.

It was a face he hadn't seen in nearly ten years.

It was someone he was certain he'd never see again.

There stood Tony Stark, eyes wide, nearly bloodshot. Hands still raised in defence, and mouth agape as he struggled to find words.

"What?" Peter asked in disbelief. "You're... You're not real."

"I... I'm pretty sure I am." Tony furrowed his eyebrows trying to figure out who the person in front of him was. Something about that face reminded him of sweet memories of his past, but it was older, worn out. And the haunted look on it didn't help either.

Then all of a sudden it came back in a flood.

"Peter?" It came out a whimper. Peter, taken aback, turned the safety back on and stowed away the gun.

'It could easily be an imposter, or, or I could have finally reached the point where I can see ghosts now.' His thoughts were cut short when Tony took a step forward and reached out.

"Stay back!" He warned. He tried to sound intimidating but the scared tone of his voice gave it away.

Tony saw something beneath these eyes. Not just fear, or anger or sadness. He saw a glint of hope.

"I swear, I'm real. I can prove it." He said desperately.

When Peter did nothing but clench his fists, he continued.

"I remember. Everything. When Thanos turned to dust, you were there. You apologized. Again, for absolutely no reason. But I didn't die. I was trapped inside of this... Pocket dimension, I had to work my way out. It took me a year. But here I am. I swear to you." He was rambling by the time he finished, and he could clearly see the tears glistening in his mentee's eyes.

"Tony." He said in all seriousness, his voice breaking.

"It's been ten years. Ten." It was now his turn to be taken aback. Before he could think how to react to this information, the younger man was suddenly merely inches away from him, the tears now free falling. He cupped Tony's face with his hands. He then let out a hysterical laugh, which only came out a relieved cry.

Strong arms wrapped him in a tight hug, a head resting on his shoulder. Oh how familiar this felt, so similar to a hug ten years ago.

His brain couldn't process it. It couldn't have been ten years...

Could it?

The young man was still sniffling, so he held him closer.

"Easy there, it's alright, I promise." He murmured, patting his back.

They stood there for a couple minutes. Peter pulled back, wiping a few stray tears from his face. A goofy grin from ear to ear.

"I- I have to tell Morgan." He frantically looked around, as if looking for something. He pulled out his phone, quickly typing on it. He felt a hand on his wrist. He looked up to meet the hesitant look in Tony's eyes.

"I don't know, Peter."

"Why?" He was so confused and it clearly showed through the way he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

"I... I'm scared."

"Of what?" He asked earnestly. He then understood. He looked fondly at his sorta-father-figure. "She misses you. She really does. She's still your Little Miss, Tony." Peter let his hand rest on Tony's shoulder, gripping him tight, still not completely believing he was real. "I'm just gonna tell her to come over." His fingers hovered over the number.

"How's Pepper?"

"Still as Pepper as ever. She is currently doing press in Japan." He said, then his tone got awfully quiet. "She was in a bad place after...After your.." He motioned awkwardly at Tony. "Quote Unquote 'Death'." He chuckled nervously. "You have no idea what we were like when you died. What the world was like." He closed his phone and shoved it in his pocket, then went on, eyes downcast.

"There was a funeral that we held, two days after the whole debacle. Everyone was there. From Hank Pym to Carol Danvers, to Peter Quill, to Harley Keener." Peter caught Tony's mildly surprised look at the mention of Harley's name. "Nick Fury was also there, lurking in the porch." He snorted. "It hit me really hard, I'm not gonna lie. Add that to the fact that I was dead for five years...It was.. It was bad. I'm pretty sure I couldn't sleep for a few months.. But way back when, you know what got me through? Morgan did. She reminded me so much of you, sometimes it felt like you never left. But then I'd remind myself that you _did_. And don't get me started on the team. God, the team. The literal definition of broken into pieces. They each went their own ways, except for Steve. He kept his position on the Avengers, still does. Along with everyone that was fighting Thanos all those years ago. We rebuilt the compound, but we kept the old design. We built a 'In Memoriam' for uh.." He fought the urge to break down. "For you and Widow."

He cleared his throat, stared out the window for a moment, then back down at his hands. "As cheesy as it sounds, every year, we'd sit around a campfire next to it, and tell stories. Whether it was about our personal lives, or our 'Avenging'" He said with air quotes. "Lives. It was so beautiful yet so heart-wrenching. But it helped us cope, in a sense. I just... Yeah.." He let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"I'm sorry, that must've been a rough few years."

"Okay, you should not be apologizing. Like, at all. Or I'm sending you back to that damn pocket dimension." Peter snickered incredulously. Tony smiled warmly and engulfed his protégé in another hug, sighing happily.

"I still need to call Morgan though." Peter shrugged, an amused look on his face.

"By all means." He said, any hint of hesitancy in his voice now gone.

Suddenly, Peter looks up, looking wary of something.

"Something's wrong." As if on cue, a red light shines in the room, an alarm blaring. "Yep, there it is." He cringes as he covers his ears. "Jeez, I should really lower that volume."

"Okay, we get it, someone's in trouble." Peter shouted over the obnoxiously loud alarm. The sound quieted down and a feminine, robotic Irish voice took its place.

"There's a distress signal, boss." A voice that Tony had grown used to hearing.

"Oh actually, he's still the boss." Peter points at his mentor happily. He then goes back to being completely serious.

"Who sent it?"

"Captain Steve Rogers."

Tony could've sworn he'd never seen Peter look so panicky as he did in that moment.


	2. The Oath: Capsicle

What went wrong? That was a recon mission!" Peter's voice was laced with panic.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Tony reached over to put a hand on his shoulder, only to be swapped away.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" He paused, looking guilty for lashing out. "Sorry. Look, Cap never sends distress signals. And when he does, it means that things went south. And I mean, really really south." That's true, when the Avengers used to live in the tower, the good captain never asked for help during solo missions.

"Where is he now? Where?" Tony questioned.

"Toronto." Peter and Friday replied at the same time. "Fri, vitals?"

"The Captain's vitals are steady. Though he suffers from multiple contusions, a sprained left wrist, and three broken ribs, Mr. Parker."

"Do we have a visual?"

"No. And the communication system is damaged. Showing last available footage." A holographic screen appeared in front of them.

The scene was dark, but multiple goons could be seen fighting Cap, who threw a couple off the roof. He blocked a punch to the face, and sent a few flying towards them. It wasn't enough. One of the goons tackled him to the floor, and kicked him in the ribs. Steve let out a cry of pain. That was all Peter had to know.

"Pause." The video stopped, and Peter zoomed in on one of the thugs. He froze.

"Hydra." His eyes filled with terror. "Friday, how long does it take to go to Toronto?"

"One hour, but no quinjets available."

"Uh, is Carol around? Strange? Scott?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. You appear to be the closest."

"Not close enough." He began to pace nervously around the room, trying to think of a plan. He had nothing, and Cap was not gonna make it out there.

"I'll do it." He turned around, Tony couldn't be serious. He was pointing at the arc reactor resting on his chest.

"No, I can't ask you to do that. Besides, you're supposed to be dead, or did you forget about that?"

"Do you have a better idea?" He had a point. He could get there in twenty minutes.

"No."

"We're doing it." He said firmly, prompting no further discussion. He tapped the arc twice and his suit powered on. He headed for the balcony, and gave one last look at Peter, who seemed resigned.

"Just don't freak him out. You're lucky I didn't pass out right then and there. Also try being a little... Stealthy. Bring him to the compound, I'll meet you there." Tony was about to argue. "There's no time to waste, chop chop!" He urged. The helmet flipped on and Iron Man soared through the sky like a missile.

Now comes the waiting. He puts on the suit and swings over to the facility. Luckily for him, not a lot of workers are there on weekends, let alone in the middle of the night.

He thinks about the last twenty minutes. He still doesn't believe they're real, maybe it's just a too-good-to-be-true dream.

Toronto, Canada 11:35PM

A brilliant red and gold suit darts through the clear night sky. His mind had taken in way too much information just this hour for him to even think straight. But now, he had one priority. Get Cap out, bring him to the compound. His train of thought was interrupted by a call.

"Hey, it's me again." He didn't have to look to know who it was, since Peter was the only person who even knew he was alive, as weird as that sounded. His tone was awfully perturbed. "I'm sending you his last known coordinates. They disabled his tracker."

"Don't worry, I'm a couple of minutes away."

"Okay, keep me posted." With that he ended the call. And Tony was left alone again.

He decreased his altitude, and put extra power in the thrusters.

A minute later, he was on the rooftop where they saw the footage. This was definitely HYDRA's. He searched for heat signatures, and found ten. No enhanced, hopefully.He could also see a few lifeless bodies lying around the base, courtesy of a certain super soldier. Speaking of super soldiers, he began to scan the underground site for his signature.

Bingo.

Wasting precious time could be fatal, so he charged head first into the base, catching a few guards by surprise, who then fell victims to his repulsor's blast.

Five soldiers were left standing. Three were heading down the stairs, so he took his chances and took down the pillar he thought was holding the roof down. The roof then collapsed on all four of them, effectively killing the thugs. Tony materialized a shield and held it over his head.

Just when he was sure the dust settled he navigated his way to where he thought Cap was.

"Stay back!" A heavily accented voice called out from behind him. He turned around, almost wanting to laugh at the man holding a pistol to the Ironman's face. Before he could make fun of his jittery expression, something, or rather someone wrapped around Tony's neck, and squeezed. Right, there was two more thugs he hadn't taken care of. He quickly fired a blast at the chuck-e-cheese looking guy with the pistol, effectively knocking him out.

He then turned his attention to the goon that was still squeezing onto his neck. Tony flew into the roof, but not hard enough to break it, just to get that brute off of his back. The man fell off Tony's back, and fell in front of him. He didn't seem to be bothered, so Tony blasted him.

Nothing. Tony looked down at his hand, it seemed to be working just fine.

"Boss, it appears that he's absorbing the energy from your repulsor." That couldn't be good. Damn inhumans. "Hand to hand combat is the only possible way to bring him down." FRIDAY smoothly added, her voice as calm as a Hindu cow.

"FRI, last time I went hand to hand, it was with the guy I'm trying to save from this goddamn base, and we both know how that ended." He said, while dodging the man's attacks. The base was small, so there was not much room for him to go. He was backing up slowly, and looking back, he noticed he was inching closer to the wall.

"Hand to hand it is." He told himself quietly as he readied himself. Tony threw a punch at the guy's jaw. It all seemed to move in slow motion, his metal fist surely was going to knock him down, right? A hand shot up, blink and you'll miss it, and grabbed Tony's wrist. And twisted. Tony held back a cry. But that wasn't the last of it, a knee forcefully slammed into Tony's manhood. Thank God for the suit though, which was apparently dented now.

The guy let Tony go, a murderous expression on his face, and Tony so wanted to wipe that ugly grin off his face. "I wonder what it'll feel like to die twice, Stark." He spit his name out like venom. "See you in hell." He reached for Tony's neck and hoisted him upwards. Tony could do nothing but desperately grab at the man's wrist and watch as he'd indent the suit until Tony wouldn't be able to breathe.

A few seconds in, and Tony was already panicking. He noticed a shadow right behind the man.

A clang echoed through the hallway. The thug's eyes rolled back into his skull and his body collapsed on the floor. Tony fell to the ground, and held onto the wall. He stood up, and turned to see who his saviour was.

Letting out a breathy laugh, he locked eyes with none other than Steve Rogers. He flicked open his helmet and smirked at the Captain. He was sporting a beard, oh, and a few bruises on his face. The latter had tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, his mouth agape, and shaking.

"Tony?" The familiar yet foreign name rolled off his tongue before he could stop it. "Y...You died. You died years ago." He whispered. The Captain looked dumbstruck, and if it weren't for the situation, Tony would be laughing.

"But I didn't! My soul was trapped in this weird pocket dimension place. But I got out. I'm here now, I swear." Tony wasn't sure whether he was comforting himself or the captain. Steve blinked away unshed tears, and took a step closer. He looked so hopeful. His mind snapped back to all those years ago...

When he ran to Tony's side as he made his way down the Benatar.

When he felt his heart being torn apart when Tony called him a liar.

How happy he felt when he was back on their side.

He was given hope when Tony smiled at him before their Time Heist.

He definitely didn't miss the look of sheer concern on Tony's face when he had passed out in the compound's debris.

And how shattered he had been when he laid eyes on Tony's lifeless body.

He snapped back to reality. Tony was still there, looking a little worried. He didn't care whether it was real anymore. He clutched Tony in his arms and let the tears fall as they may.

Tony was stunned. He had never expected Cap to be a particularly affectionate person, let alone with him. Having said that, Tony returned the hug. He would never admit it, but it was nice.

"By the way, you are totally rocking the whole nomad look." He teased.

Steve chuckled, pulling back and looking Tony in the eyes. "I really missed you, Tony." He said wholeheartedly.

"You too, Spangles."


	3. Author's Note Sneak Peak

A creaking sound snapped them out of their touchy-feely moment. Both men turned to where they believed the sound came from. One of the underground base's pillars wasn't exactly standing straight. This whole place was about to come down.

"We can't stay here." Steve states as if it weren't obvious enough. He gasps as he sees a huge slab of concrete falling on Tony's head. With a soldier's instinct, he shoves his friend away. His back screams in agony, and he knew no more.

*A/N*

lmao don't kill me.

i just wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of you that read the story. Your support is what helps me keep going. Feel free to give me prompts! But I'm not good at writing romance, so I'll steer clear of that.

where do you want this story to go?

And i would just like to clarify some things. The year is 2033, Tony is still 53 since time doesn't exist in the pocket dimension, Steve is forty-ish, and Peter is 27.

Anyway, next chapter will be out soon enough. But I am going through my finals next week till May 16 so updates will be a lil slow.

bye!


	4. The Oath: Home

A creaking sound snapped them out of their touchy-feely moment. Both men turned to where they believed the sound came from. One of the underground base's pillars wasn't exactly standing straight. This whole place was about to come down.

"We can't stay here." Steve states as if it weren't obvious enough.

"Really? What makes you say that?"

He gasps as he sees a huge slab of concrete falling on Tony's head. With a soldier's instinct, he shoves his friend away. His back screams in agony, and he knew no more.

"Cap!" Stark called out. He had slowly come to realize what'd happened. He let the nanobots re-materialize his helmet, carried the unconscious body lying in front of him bridal style, and flew through the half- collapsed roof.

Landing smoothly on the cold pavement, he softly laid down the body and hastily shoved his index and thumb onto his pulse line.

A felt a somewhat weak but steady pulse beat thrumming under his metallic fingers. He breathed out in relief.

"Friday, read vitals." The computer obeyed, and on his HUD showed a far from short list of injuries the captain has sustained. The most recent, an incomplete spinal cord injury. But he already knew that. At least it wasn't anything modern medicine couldn't fix.

Tony was baffled to see that some of the injuries were older. Cap was literally the paragon of self-preservation. Regardless, he shoved the thought far back into his head and focused on getting him out of here. He decided to make a call.

"Parker? I got him." He began.

"What, is he okay?" Peter replied briskly.

"He's not dead, so that's a win." He could mentally hear the man on the other end of the line facepalm.

"Is he okay?" He sounded slightly more irritated this time.

"Yeah, he's fine. Don't get your tinsel in a tangle, he's all right. A little beat up, but otherwise fine."

"Bring him to the compound, there's no one here anyway."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure he's gonna need a doctor."

"Who's to say I don't have a medical degree?" Peter replied smugly, and hung up.

"What?" He realized he was speaking to the open air. He rolled his eyes and slung the Captain's left arm across his neck, and carried him. He grimaced and looked down at his friend's face.

"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look." He stated, expecting no response.

"So I've been told." Steve slurred his words, and only seemed half conscious.

"Oh, so you're awake. Thought you were KO'd."

"And I thought you were dead, yet here we are." Some ghost of a grin appeared on the super soldier's face, before the rest of his energy gave out and his face rested against the billionaire's chest, listening to the humming of the arc reactor.

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful.

Avengers Facility, Upstate New York.

1:06AM

By the time they flew in, Peter had already prepped a room for Steve and was standing anxiously by the floor-to-ceiling window. He leaned his head on the glass, looking outside.

A few minutes later, a small dot in the sky seemed to glow brighter, and brighter, till a familiar metal face appeared in the distance.

"Hey, look who decided to show up." His eyes brightened, still not used to seeing it all again. He focused his gaze on the super soldier in his arms.

"I had FRIDAY send you the report, what do you think?" Tony looked like he wanted to continue. "Doctor?"

Peter rolled his eyes so hard it hurt, and went on to clarify. "I am not a physician, I just have the degree."

"You sure you can handle it alone?" He said as he laid Steve down on the hospital bed.

"I'd tell you to join me, but there's someone waiting for you in the communal area." Peter winked. Tony narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Just go."

As Tony walked along the compound, he was hit with a sense of nostalgia. It was just the same. Sure, a few unfamiliar gadgets here and there, but pretty much the same. A few rooms later, he was there. He stopped dead in his tracks, freezing.

Sat in the conversation pit in the middle of the room, a teenager with her hair up in a ponytail stared at her phone's screen. He instantly recognized her, despite not having seen her in years.

"Morgan?" Her head whipped back, losing all blood in her face.

"Oh my god, it really is you." She whispered and simply gawked at him as he made his way down the pit. "I... How?"

"It's... Complicated." He shrugged, not really having the energy to explain it all again. All of a sudden he was tackled in a bone-crushing hug. He really was getting a lot of hugs today.

Tony hid his head in his daughter's hair. He could feel a puddle of wetness on his shoulder, but he didn't much care.

"Glad to see you're still a fan of coconut." He remarked, taking a whiff of her hair.

Pulling back, Tony wiped his thumbs across Morgan's eyes, drying those tear stained, gorgeous chocolate orbs.

He put his hand on the back of her head, and rested it against his chest. He planted a kiss on the top of her head, and patted his free hand against her back.

The pair spent an hour catching up, with Tony being updated on what has happened in the last decade. He picked up an advanced looking tablet, it immediately lit up.

2:31 AM

April 2nd 2033

He still couldn't wrap his head around it, his brain couldn't process the information. He could spend a day locked up in his lab, and he still wouldn't be able to get accustomed to the world. 'Let's call it a day.' He thinks.

Tony looks over at his daughter, her black waves covering half her face. She'd dozed off. Tony picks up a pillow and puts it under her head. He leans over and softly pecks her forehead.

"Sleep tight, Moguna. I love you tons."

He looks at her lovingly, and she awakes just long enough to utter four words.

"I love you three thousand."


	5. The Oath: Family

Tony found himself retracing his steps to the medical ward, expecting to see Peter still there. He wasn't.

"FRIDAY, where's Peter?"

"Mr. Parker is currently in his room. Should I show you the way?"

"No, no. I think I'm good." He let his instinct guide him to where he remembered the living quarters were. And sure enough, he was soon standing in front of a light grey door, with a small red spider logo on it. He knocked.

After waiting for a couple of seconds, Tony assumed he had gone to bed. And just as he started to walk away, a quiet voice emerged from the room.

"Uh, come in." Tony opened the door, and walked into the dark room. In which the only light came from the tablet laying in the other man's hands.

"I sedated Steve. He's either gonna be out for the next few minutes, or well into next week. There really is no telling with him." Tony squinted dramatically at him. "I'm just kidding, it'll be a couple of hours. He's going to be back to his normal frisky self in no time."

Tony was standing in front of Peter, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed. He seemed fascinated by his mentor's mere existence. 'I mean, to be fair, I was assumed dead for a decade.' Tony mused to himself.

"So, what have you been up to, these last few years?" He sat next to the younger man. The latter seemed deep in thought, carefully picking his choice of words.

"Well, for starters, New York was swarmed by alien armies like three times. Defeated some idiot from another dimension, saved Europe a bunch. Took a few jobs from S.H.I.E.L.D." He motioned to the shield logo on his leather jacket. "What else? Graduated aerospace engineering from NYU." He scratches the back of his head trying to recall any important details. Nothing worth mentioning comes up. The pair lapse in a comfortable silence.

"It's good to have you back." Pure light brown eyes contemplated his, the emotion radiating from them truly sincere and unfeigned.

"Good to be back." He returned the sentiment, giving a warm smile and studying the twenty-something year old in front of him. Peter seemed to be lost in thought, like he was mustering up the courage to say something.

"You know, in two weeks' time, it would have been the tenth... anniversary, of your death." Tony winced, because sooner or later, the rest of the team -and the world, for that matter- would know he was still alive. It was going to be a little bit hard to celebrate his death when he was, for lack of better explanation, not dead.

The younger man sat next to him seemed to have the same thoughts swarming his head, and smirked at him.

"Maybe we'll do things a little differently this time."

April 26, 2033 Avengers Facility, Upstate New York. 12:OOAM

The lake was still, and the wind was rustling between the trees. The moon was full, and it shone directly on a life-sized statue of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, smiling. Under the statue it wrote:

"In Loving Memory of Those Who Fell, So That The Fallen Could Rise."

It had taken a week of persuasion and convincing, but eventually, Tony Stark came out to the public and declared his 'un-death', once again, for lack of better explanation. After being almost tackled to death by his wife in a shower of kisses, engulfed in bone-crushing hugs by his teammates and being the reason for a lifetime supply of happy tears, the world slipped back into normal life, if there ever was such a thing.

The original Avengers, along with the other members were gathered around a bonfire overlooking the lake. The only person missing from their get-together was one Peter Parker.

Varying levels of surprise and delight circuited through the team when their favourite spider showed up with one particular philanthropist in tow. Cheers erupted through the group.

"Two weeks ago, something nothing short of a miracle happened in my apartment." Peter started. "And so I thought, why not bring in a special guest here today. Tony." The Avengers, looking domesticated and comfortable, all but wore shit-eating grins on their faces.

In a few minutes, the conversation sparked an unspoken feeling of nostalgia in their assembly, just like old times, you could say. They slipped into a comfortable routine. With Tony finding odd ways to make s'mores, and Clint proceeding to steal them. Steve mothering them like he always does.

Peter watched as the team goofed around, whilst incorporating himself from time to time. He looked fondly at Scott throwing marshmallows at Wanda, at Carol who seemed to form an unlikely bond with Tony. And for the first time in years, Peter felt pure, raw happiness.

After tiring themselves out, and maybe drinking a little too much, they started to lean on each other for support.

"Tony." Steve, who was still completely unaffected by the alcohol, began. "How did you get out?" He genuinely asked out of curiosity. Tony sobered up for a second.

"When I snapped my fingers, I remember passing out. When I woke up, I was on Earth, or so I thought." This got the full attention of the group. "At first I thought I was in the wrong time. I believed that if I somehow recreated our 'time machine', I could possibly get back to my timeline. But as I walked around more and more I realised... I was all alone. There was no one else on this god forsaken planet. The resources were more primitive than I would've liked them." He paused, his eyes looking gloomy. "But I made it, it wasn't as elegant as the one we made way back when, but it worked. But soon enough, I realized something was off. I kept traveling backward and forward in time, but it seemed that I was stuck in an eternal time loop." Tony shrugged, recalling vividly these dreadful memories. "So I gave up, let myself go, surrendered to this lifetime of everlasting nothingness. For weeks, years, I don't know how long. But then it hit me: The reason that I had failed wasn't because there was no way out. It was because I was looking in the wrong dimension. So I rewrote some algorithms. And it magically worked, and I ended up in Spider-Ling's apartment." He finished, pointing his index finger at a gawking Peter, who shared the same expression as the rest of the team.

"This is... A lot to take in." Peter admitted, the story shaking him, and he was concerned by the way Tony told it so apathetically. "But you're here now, and that's all that matters." He gingerly placed his palm on his mentor's shoulder. Nods of agreement resonated within the company.

"Okay, someone hand me that Asgardian Mead before I lose it." Tony deadpanned.

The tense atmosphere slowly but surely dissipated, stories were told, walks down memory lane were taken, and by four o'clock in the morning, most of the Avengers were passed out in each other's arms, some in very odd positions. However, Carol, Steve, and Peter were still wide awake.

"You guys know we're gonna have to carry them back to their rooms like every year, right?" Carol uttered in exasperation.

"And put Advil pills and a bottle of water by their bedsides." Cap added in uselessly.

"Yeah, I know." Peter sighed. "I know, I'm still in denial." He let his chin rest on his fist, staring out at the rising sun, its rays shining out in all sorts of warm colors. He let his thoughts wander.

And maybe, just maybe...

Everything was going to turn out fine.

The Morning After

Peter Parker snored peacefully in his bed, unaware of the distant knocking on his door. It had been one of the first nights he slept soundlessly since as lol the last life-threatening situation he'd been involved in.

He woke up startled by the non-stop knocking in a few minutes, drenched in sweat. He took stock of his surroundings and calmed down the rapid beating of his heart.

Peter caught sight of the alarm clock, and walked to the door in fustration. He was gonna give whoever was on the other end of that door a piece of his mind because it was eight in the morning and unless the world is on fi-

"Oh." Tony Stark stood there, eyes wide and frantic. "Hey, you okay?" Peter gripped Tony's shoulders.

"I think I..." The mechanic stammered. "I think I found a way to bring Natasha back."

Peter paled, freezing, seemingly forgetting how to breathe.

"What?"

A/N*

welp. that's that. i think that's it for this very specific timeline. For now.

i just wanted to provide a bit of closure and leave it at a cliffhanger at the same time. i think you can imagine what'll happen next.

i already have two One-Shots in mind that will be in different timelines. but don't worry, I'll be back to this timeline before you know it. :)

please let me know if you want to see the chapter where they get Nat back, maybe with a side of romanogers? i know i said I won't be writing romance but if there is a special request, then I'll do it.

and i just wanna say thank you for getting this fanfic to 3000 views on !! once again, your support is what keeps me going!

xxx 


	6. Final Act: Together

Amongst the debris of the compound, a fight for the fate of the universe rests in the palms of a group of heroes.

As the mad Titan's armies seethe through the ground, and glide through the air, the heroes penetrated through enemy lines.

However, as the fierce battle progressed, the scales began to tip towards the antagonist. A brief thought passed the Avengers' heads. They had to end this here, and now.

Steve Rogers crushed and tore apart the outriders brutally, using the pointy edges of his broken shield and his newly acquired hammer to deliver easy takedowns. Clearing the area in front of him, he noticed a one-on-one brawl in the middle of the battlefield. Tony Stark had clearly taken it upon himself to pry the gauntlet off Thanos' hand.

He remembered Tony telling him about having installed a failsafe in the gauntlet, but never really knew what it consisted of, or rather, hadn't had a chance to ask.

"I am inevitable." Thanos voiced darkly.

He could only watch in apprehension as the stones embedded themselves into the Iron Man's armored fist. He instantly realized it was going to kill him.

The energy from the gauntlet seeped through the armor, and well into Tony's already injured body. Energy leaked from the gauntlet, the light coming from it so intense it was blinding Thanos momentarily.

And from God knows where, a hand reached out to Tony's right shoulder. "Stark!" A voice called out, almost drowned out by the voices of battle and the white noise omitting from the armoured hand containing the six most powerful weapons in the universe. Stark turned his head to the side, albeit rather slowly due to his struggle, and looked in confusion at the person yelling.

Peter Quill was holding out his hand. "Take my hand!" He yelled. It seemed like a very odd request at the time, but Stark appeared to get the gist of it, so he complied, taking Quill's hand in his. Instantly, he felt some of the energy fade away. One by one, the Guardians of the Galaxy lined up, grabbing each other. Apparently, they had done this before. Drax stood at the end of the line, stretching out his arm to whoever followed him. The strength of the stones was too much for such a small group of people, they needed to scale it up this time around.

The Avengers started to huddle together, sharing the energy pouring from the stones amongst themselves. There was only one spot left to fill.

A strong left hand wrapped around Carol Danvers' right one, and a right hand clasped the wrist of Stark's gauntlet firmly. Steve completed the band formed by the Earth's -and the galaxy's for that matter- Mightiest Heroes. Time seemed to pause, and everything moved in slow motion.

Cap sent a determined look towards the billionaire, and nodded sharply at him, giving him the go-ahead. Tony focused, disregarding any and all injuries he had. This was it, this was the moment that would settle the fate of the entire universe and hopefully bring peace to it.

_'Thanos and his armies, they must all go.' _He silently thought.

"And we are..." Tony brought his middle finger and his thumb together. He smirked. "The Avengers."

**_Snap_**

When Steve awoke a few minutes later, he was greeted by a fairly calming silence. He was still in pain, the exposure to gamma radiation couldn't have been completely healthy, but it evidently wasn't enough to kill him. He sat up, frantically looking around.

Avengers and Guardians alike seemed to have passed out. And there was no sign of Thanos, or any Chitauri in the distance.

They did it. They won.

When a few heroes began to come to, Steve let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He then looked around, trying to spot a certain genius. He finds him lying down on a broken Wakandan battleship.

Fearing for the worst, Steve kneeled in front of the man. The gauntlet had done some considerable damage to his arm, the burns slightly scathing the crook of his neck. Placing his index and middle finger on the side of his windpipe, Steve breathed out in relief. Strong, but steady.

A few moments of fitting silence later, Stark's eyes fluttered open, taking in the speckles of dust floating around. He sat up, but pain flared through his left arm. He discerned the burn marks on his skin, causing his eyes to widen in alarm. Tony focused his gaze on the blonde towering over him, whose eyes held something along the lines of concern and relief.

"You okay?" A hand rested on Tony's uninjured shoulder. Slipping his warrior face back on, he gave a hasty nod.

"What the hell happened?" He questioned, only scattily recalling the events that unfolded. Steve slowly sat next to him, raised his head to the sky, and smiled.

"We won."

***A/N***

**there it is! I know that it's pretty short and long overdue, but I had a hopeless case of writer's block. I know that something like this happening in the movie would be physically impossible, but one can dream. the next chapter is part (2/2) of this storyline. lots of bromance and avenger fam next chapter! also, just pretend nat is perfectly fine and alive, cause why the hell not?**

**as always, I'll see you in the next one :)**


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